Culture difference between China and western countries from the perspective of the letter “I”

by
anita /Jan 13, 2012

1. Has anybody paid attention to the letter “I” which is the commonest used in our daily life? No matter where “I” appears in the sentences of written English, it is capitalized, while words like “you” “we” “you” “she” “he” “they” are not capitalized.

2. In China, of cause, there is no things called “capitalization”. But we may call ourselves differently, for instance, “在下” or “鄙人” instead of “我”. In the ancient dynasties, even the king will call himself like “寡人” or “孤”, this is a way of expressing respect by inferior himself. “Actually from this perspective, we can see the difference between China and western countries. We can see that Chinese often express modesty in our daily life or daily conversation. The Chinese regard modesty as a virtue.

We respect modest people, and dislike conceited and arrogant fellows. Therefore, over-stressing oneself might lead to the aversion of the Chinese when dealing with them. However, people in western countries often show their confidence or capability rather than hiding them or feeling inferior. They are more brave in showing their ability in work or personal characteristics. Thus, people in western countries are often surprised by the Chinese modesty. For instance, to show his modesty, Chinese may declare in the report on his work, “I lack the working ability. Please feel free to give your comments and advices.”

3. With the rapid development of world globalization and culture exchange, I think people in China are becoming more and more confident in showing and expressing themselves, movie starts or even common people.<